MK Basel Ghattas Accepts Plea DealCIE+
Arab Knesset member Basel Ghattas reaches a plead deal on charges of smuggling items to prisoners in the first use of the MK Impeachment Law.
19th Knesset Is ElectedCIE+
Early elections are held following the October 2012 dissolution of the Knesset due to an impasse over the state budget.
Shinui Party Leaves Sharon GovernmentCIE+
Led by Israeli television personality Tommy Lapid, Shinui (change), wins fifteen seats in the 2003 Israeli election.
Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig DiesCIE+
Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig, a founder of Israel’s National Religious Party and signatory of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, passes away in Jerusalem at the age of 96.
Knesset Passes Environmental Enforcement LawCIE+
In a move designed to “make the polluter pay,” according to Environment Minister Raphael Eitan, the Knesset passes the Environmental Enforcement Law.
Aharon Remez, Second Israeli Air Force Commander, DiesCIE+
Maj. Gen. Aharon Remez, who led Israel’s Air Force in its early years and served as ambassador to Great Britain, dies in Jerusalem at 74.
Shamir Fires Weizman Over PLO ContactCIE+
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir dismisses Science Minister Ezer Weizman as a consequence of his contact with the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
Meir Kahane AssassinatedCIE+
November 5, 1990 Israeli politician Rabbi Meir Kahane, 58, is fatally shot by Egyptian-American El Sayyid Nosair in a Manhattan hotel where Kahane is addressing a crowd of mostly Orthodox Jews. Kahane was elected to…
Intellectual Dov Sadan DiesCIE+
Israeli intellectual and former Knesset member Dov Sadan dies at the age of 87.
Homosexuality Legalized in IsraelCIE+
March 22, 1988 The Knesset repeals a British Mandate-era law banning sex between people of the same gender and thereby legalizes homosexuality in Israel. The repeal is part of a package of sex and sex-crime…
Knesset Votes in Favor of Golan Heights LawCIE+
In a quickly organized and somewhat surprising move, the Knesset votes to annex the Golan Heights by a vote of 63-21.
Moshe Dayan Dies at 66CIE+
Moshe Dayan, Israel’s iconic military and political leader, passes away from a heart attack in a Tel Aviv hospital at the age of 66.
Politician Tamar Zandberg Is BornCIE+
April 29, 1976 Politician Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party is born in Ramat Gan. She is first elected to the 19th Knesset in 2013, then wins a place in the 20th, 21st, 22nd…
Arab Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi Is BornCIE+
May 23, 1969 Pioneering Knesset member Hanin Zoabi is born into a Muslim family in Nazareth. Zoabi earns a bachelor’s in philosophy and psychology from the University of Haifa and a master’s from the Hebrew…
President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi DiesCIE+
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Israel’s second President and celebrated historian, passes away at the age of 78.
Politician Nir Barkat BornCIE+
Nir Barkat is born in Jerusalem. He serves as the city’s mayor from 2008 to 2018, then joins the Likud party to run for the Knesset.
General and Politician Benny Gantz Is BornCIE+
June 9, 1959 Benjamin “Benny” Gantz, who rises to chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and a top candidate for prime minister, is born in Kfar Ahim. His father is a native of…
First Basic Law Sets Knesset RulesCIE+
The first of eleven Basic Laws is issued by the Israeli parliament. Basic Laws are originally intended to form the basis of an Israeli Constitution, but the constitution remains unwritten.
Dalia Itzik Is BornCIE+
Dalia Itzik is born in Jerusalem to a family of Iraqi immigrants. In the Seventeenth Knesset (2006), she becomes the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Knesset.
Israel Accepts German ReparationsCIE+
January 9, 1952 The Knesset ends three days of debate by voting 61-50 to accept more than $800 million in Holocaust reparations from the Western German government over 14 years. The decision sparks protests and…
Knesset Passes Resolution for Creating Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day)CIE+
A resolution was passed by the Knesset, establishing the 27th day of Nisan as Yom Hashoah (“Holocaust Memorial Day”), a memorial day for the Jews who were victims to the Nazis.
Harari Resolution Halts Effort to Enact Israeli ConstitutionCIE+
After more than a year of continued debate on the issue, the First Knesset adopts the “Harari Resolution,” which stipulated that the “constitution” of Israel would be composed of a series of Basic Laws approved by the Knesset.
Knesset Declares Jerusalem Capital of IsraelCIE+
By a vote of 60-2, with members of Mapam and Herut abstaining, the Knesset adopts a proclamation declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
Moshe Sharett Updates Knesset on Israel’s FrontiersCIE+
In an address to the Knesset, Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett reconfirms Israel’s willingness to negotiate agreeable and sustainable terms of peace with its neighbors.
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